TEEN TOPIC #58: Have you talked with your parents or endo about drinking alcohol and diabetes? What have you learned?

 

Annelies (age 15)
I’ve talked briefly with them about drinking, but they always taught me everything in moderation and that applies to diabetes and drinking too. I’m nowhere near old enough to drink though, so I don’t really worry about it.

Andrew (age 15)
I have spoken with my parents about drinking and diabetes and what I’ve learned is really a life lesson that should be used in all aspects of our lives, be responsible. Drinking has a negative side effects to diabetes and if you’re going to drink you have to be responsible and understand your bodies limitations.

Ashley B. (age 16)
My mom has talked to me about diabetes and drinking, saying that before I move out I should learn how to drink with diabetes. I don’t plan on drinking when I’m older, but my mom said its still something diabetics should learn how to handle.

Ashley C. (age 14)
I haven’t had that come up yet.

Cameron (age 17)
My parents have told me that if I drink, it’s harder to sense when I’m low and that stuff. They said that if I ever do drink, just drink in moderation and be extra careful.

 

Claire (age 18)
I have, and I have learned that it can be more dangerous than normal people drinking. When drinking, as a diabetic, if you were to consume too much alcohol and pass out, your liver is busy processing the alcohol, and in the instance that you were to drop low, your liver should normally secrete glucose and stop you from dying, but in this instance, it wouldn’t. Which is why drinking with diabetes is dangerous.

Erin (age 17)
I have not but in the diabetic groups I’m in I’ve learned a lot about the do’s and do nots of drinking with diabetes.

Ian (age 14)
I have found that when drinking, you must drink with foods, and you mustn’t get drunk.

Jessica (age 20)
I have never had a diabetes talk regarding alcohol with my parents or my endo. However, I think that this is an extremely important conversation to have with both parties. I have done some of my own research to find out how beer and hard liquor affect diabetics. Nonetheless, we all know that everyone’s body is different and so not all T1Ds will react the same. Although many people frown upon drinking and talking about it with their underage kids, I believe that it is of utmost importance to have this discussion with diabetic children beyond the “it can affect you badly, quickly, and hospitalize you”. Not only is this a vital conversation for parents to have, but I think it is even more important to have with the endo present and continue the conversation at home. I have always been curious and slightly afraid of what can happen because no one has talked to me about it. I encourage all diabetics to reach out to their endo as well as do some research on their own.

Jordan (age 18)
I have learned to drink sugar while drinking and to not bolus when you go high because alcohol makes you blood sugar shoot up then it goes right back down.  I also know that I need to eat something fatty before I go to bed if I have been drinking to help keep me from going low.

Julia (age 15)
I don’t plan on drinking in the future. It’s just not an interest of mine so we haven’t talked about it.

Laura (age 17)
I’ve never talking to my endocrinologist about drinking. However, my parents have consulted me. My mother told me that giving insulin for alcohol isn’t smart because it doesn’t stay in your system, or something. I didn’t pay that much attention.

Lexi (age 16)
If you’re talking about alcohol, it has a weird effect on diabetes. It’ll rise your blood sugar and then drop it too. Most of the time when you drink you need to eat something with it. But with anything like sodas my mom usually helps me do a combo bolus that lasts from 3-6 hours most of the time.

 

Maggie (age 16)
I’ve never spoken to a doctor or parent about it but it is brought up a lot at camp and Friends for Life (diabetes conference). I’ve learned to be safe when it comes to drinking and diabetes; always have a designated person who knows how to take care of you because the signs of a low are the signs of being hung over. If you are having a drink don’t do insulin because you rise, then crash. Always try to eat something before you drink or before going to bed so you don’t crash in the middle of the night.

Skylyn (age 16)
I’ve always known that drinking is not good no matter who you are and I don’t have any interest in drinking. Even if my friends were drinking, I still wouldn’t. I have no problem being the designated driver.

Vanessa (age 16)
I’ve talked to adults with diabetes about it and they have only told me little about it. Or I’ve talked to other teens that drink already and what they have told me, I don’t see myself being a drinker.

 

Haley (age 14)
My parents have talked with me about drinking. I’ve learned that drinking alcohol can cause dangerously low blood sugar levels. Also, drinking excessively could cause me to not realize if I were experiencing a low.

Maddy (age 14)
I have talked with my parents and my endo about drinking with diabetes. Even though I do not plan to drink when I am older, I have discussed it before. I have learned that many alcohols have carbs and that my blood sugar can be affected by the alcohol that I consume.

 

McKenna (age 16)
I have talked to my parents about drinking and my endo about it. They say it’s very dangerous but especially for diabetics because if we get wasted then we won’t be able to wake ourselves up when we go low and it will cause our blood sugar to do weird things.

Christina (age 15)
I haven’t talked to my parents or endo thoroughly about drinking with diabetes. However, my older cousin who also has type 1 doesn’t drink because of how it affects her BGs, so I have learned a bit from her.

TEEN TOPIC #57: What’s something that your parents do that you find helpful (diabetes-wise)?

Jordan (age 18)
My mom has OCD and neatly stacks my diabetes supplies so that’s pretty nice.

Julia (age 15)
My parents clean out my kit for me a lot because I forget and that’s super helpful. My mom also usually remembers what day I need to change my site so I don’t run out of insulin.

Laura (age 17)
I get really annoyed easily when it comes to managing my diabetes so when my parents really try to help it makes me frustrated. I think the best thing that my parents can do that is helpful and stand back and trust that I will be able to take care of myself without their supervision.

Lexi (age 16)
My mom texts me when I should test my blood sugar and I set reminders. Sometimes I forget to do it when I’m busy or distracted.

Jessica (age 20)
The most helpful thing my parents do is listen and help only when I ask. I am not a fan of people jumping in, taking control, and telling me what to do. I have always loved to be independent, and I think this is an important quality for all diabetics to have. One day we are going to be adults and on our own, therefore we must learn how to take care of ourselves, by ourselves. As I have gotten older, very occasional reminders to do something or did I do something are helpful, but when they begin to be too cumbersome or “what was your number” that is when I get annoyed and frustrated. I know how to ask for help and reminders when I need them, and I most definitely know how to take care of my blood sugars. When my parents understand that I am capable and if I need something/have an issue that I will come to them, life becomes so much easier and less stressful.

Maggie (age 16)
I find that my Dexcom and my mom texting me emojis when I’m low or high is helpful but the all the time signal losses not so much. Also I find my dad basing meals off of carbs a lot easier for me to calculate and not forget to bolus.

Skylyn (age 16)
Something my mom does that is helpful is she double checks everything before doing a set change. Like she makes sure all the parts fit together properly and work properly. This helps minimize problems such as blocked tubing.

Vanessa (age 16)
My mom has always come into my room in the mornings and checked if I was sleeping in, and if my blood sugar was high she would also give me a shot so that when I finally wake up I don’t feel sick from a high blood sugar. And of course if it’s low she wakes me up and has me drink a juice or eat something. But that’s just a little bit of what she does, if I had to tell you all that she did for me I would be talking for hours.

Haley (age 14)
They always do my early morning Lantus dose and I don’t have to wake up for it. My Mom always gets me cases for my daily supplies that are cute and easy to carry around. They’re always trying to find ways to help make things easier for me.

Maddy (age 14)
Something my parents and I find helpful is creating meal plans with carb counts so we can eat healthy and also plan ahead for me so I don’t have to scramble as much before eating figuring out carbs.

McKenna (age 16)
I find it very helpful when my parents don’t hover over me with checking my blood sugar or giving insulin. I also find it helpful when they’re understanding with the small problems I have with diabetes and when my mom is on top of ordering supplies when I’m running low.

Christina (age 15)
Both of my parents will gladly put my infusion set in when it seems like an impossible, scary task. Also, they will listen to my occasional rant about the unfairness of diabetes when my blood sugar is high or a low stops me from jogging.

Annelies (age 15)
Some things that my parents do that are helpful are reminding me to test, and helping me with carb counting. But most importantly, they’re always there as a support system and understand that I’m human, and I might forget things sometimes. They also understand that I’m still technically a kid and I want to be able to do fun things and they’ll help me figure out what to do with my devices and blood sugar.

Andrew (age 15)
My parents do a great job of communicating with my teachers and other adults in my community about my diabetes and how to help me manage my diabetes. Personally I’m very independent in my diabetes care and as a result I have an extreme dislike of adults constantly checking in on me and my numbers, whether or not I’ve bloused, etc. My parents do a great job of preemptively telling my teachers and other adults they run into about my dislike of their protective behavior and as a result I don’t have to tell them myself.

Ashley B. (age 16)
I find it helpful when I’m calculating how much insulin I need for a meal and they help me by looking up the carbs. 

Ashley C. (age 14)
She refills my diabetes bag as needed keeps my supplies organized, and she allows me and my endo to make my own plan.

Cameron (age 17)
Keeping my CGM in their room at nighttime so they can wake up to the alarm and I can sleep.

Claire (age 18)
They remind me to dose and do blood checks pretty often. But since I just turned 18 and am about to move into a college dorm, they’re sort of taking a step back and letting me fend for myself.

Erin (age 17)
I mostly do everything myself, and if I could do endo appts myself I would, but tried to once and they canceled it. Since I do everything myself, my parents just listen if I get frustrated, or with a lot this past school year call in because you have to be over 18 to call yourself out of high school. So I guess it would be being supportive and listening.

Ian (age 14)
My parents are willing to get up in the middle of the night to give me a correction for my blood sugar. The CGM doesn’t wake me up. But they wake up and help me. I love that.

 

TEEN TOPIC # 56: What do you want to be when you grow up, and how do you see diabetes fitting in to that career?

Annelies (age 15)
I want to be a psychiatrist, preferably in my own private practice. That means I can determine my own hours and if I need to take time off for an Endo appointment, I can. I won’t let diabetes rule my dreams and what I want to do, it’ll fit into my life and choices. I’m not conforming to anything just because I have diabetes.

Andrew (age 15)
When I grow up I’d like to be either a lawyer or a stock broker. In both of those scenarios I’d see my diabetes care as a crucial part of my job because in both cases I need to be healthy and mentally prepared for what I’m doing. Whether it be managing someone’s portfolio or defending someone in a case, I need to be healthy in order to do that properly.

Ashley B. (age 16)
When I grow up, I plan on going to college to be a biomedical engineer. Biomedical engineers actually manufacture diabetes supplies, prosthetic limbs, artificial tissue, and stuff like that. 

Ashley C. (age 14)
I want to be an occupational therapist when I grow up. I don’t really think it will have that much of an impact on my future career.

Cameron (age 17)
I still have no idea what I want to be, but I don’t think diabetes will effect it at all

Claire (age 18)
I hope to be an Equine Assisted Therapist after college. This is a Therapist that puts disabled kids/adults up on horses, as a part of their rehabilitation. I don’t really see diabetes holding me back from that, as I never have let a little disease hold me back. As far as it fitting into this life I plan to lead, I would hope it would fit the same way it does today; It fits, but can fall out of place and need refitting every now and then.

Erin (age 17)
This fall I’m off to college to hopefully major in nursing and minor in theatre. Depending what field of nursing, there may be certain things I can’t do at certain times if my sugars aren’t doing the best. I haven’t thought much on that, so I should.

Ian (age 14)
I would love to go into writing. If I had that career diabetes wouldn’t be a worry. My backup is veterinary medicine. Diabetes wouldn’t fit in to that well.  Imagine that you are preforming surgery and all of a sudden your blood sugar starts dropping. You can’t just leave.

Jessica (age 20)
 I am currently on track to become a doctor. I will be finishing my last year of undergrad before I take a year off, followed by medical school. Diabetes has been a huge proponent in setting my goals and helping me to achieve them. I have decided that I want to specialize in pediatrics and possibly something further. However, I know that I most likely do not want to do surgery (specifically brain and heart) because diabetes seems too unpredictable for the job. What happens if I go low in the middle of surgery? Or I am having a rough patch yet surgery is scheduled and peoples’ lives are on the line? To me, being a surgeon with T1D just doesn’t seem like the best path; luckily there are several other specialties I can go into! I think having diabetes will have a significant impact on my bed-side manner and personal skills when dealing with patients. I have been seeing countless doctors from such a young age, that my firsthand experience has shaped several of my ideals and goals as a medical professional. Therefore, I hope to give back to a community that has helped me grow in more ways than I can count, while make others’ lives easier.

Jordan (age 18)
I want to be a business man and go into International Business. I don’t really see how diabetes connects to that in any way, but I guess the tubing on a pump gets annoying when you have to tuck in your shirt for a suit.

Julia (age 15)
I don’t have any idea what I want to be but I know I won’t let diabetes get in the way.

Laura (age 17)
I actually am still not sure what I want to be when I grow up. For a while I was thinking psychologist, but my mind changes all the time. Regardless, no matter what career I pick, diabetes shouldn’t and won’t be a problem.

Lexi (age 16)
I most likely want to be a scientist or something along the lines of that. Of course I’d start out my working career as a simple cashier or something, but there’s no job I can think of that’s in my interest that would ever get in my way of working.

Maggie (age 16)
I want to be either a park ranger or a psychologist when I grow up. I can see either one fitting into my career based on education. If anyone asks what’s that or what are you doing I’ll simply tell them. Becoming my dream job would require more control and I would just have to make sure I was in my target range before I did anything with another person or went on a hiking tour. I’d just have to watch out for how I feel more often.

Skylyn (age 16)
I don’t know what I want to do as my future career. When I do, I know I’ll just make it work into my schedule like I do every day. I have to with school so it wouldn’t be much different.

Vanessa (age 16)
I’ve always been worried about my diabetes getting in the way of my life but when it does then I just deal with it at that moment. I want to be a cosmetologist and of course if my blood sugar is low I know I have to stop and go to the side to get some carbs in me but I won’t let it stop me from getting the job done.

Haley (age 14)
I would like to pursue a career in the field of pediatric endocrinology. Maybe a diabetes educator or nutritionist. I’ve been living with T1D since I was 16 months old, so I feel like that will have prepared me to be able to help T1D children. I think having a career in that field would have a good effect on my diabetes because I would be constantly learning about new treatments and ways to improve my own health.

Maddy (age 14)
When I grow up, I want to become a chef. I see diabetes fitting into that career in a helpful way. With being a chef, you are involved with food and preparations of the food. I will be able to experiment and can also figure out carb counts and the nutritional info for customers with a variety of health needs.

McKenna (age 16)
When I’m older I would love to play in the WNBA. Diabetes fits into this career. I would have to care for myself better and show other children that diabetes is a struggle but yet manageable and controllable.

Christina (age 15)
As of now, when I grow up I want to be a dietician. I foresee my diabetes aiding me if I become a dietician because it will not only help me deal with patients who have diabetes, or other disorders, but allow me to expand upon my knowledge about food. My diabetes showed me how my body reacts to proper nutrition and that could aid in my job.

TEEN TOPIC #55: Have your parents ever punished you for not testing or for forgetting to bolus? Do you feel that punishing for diabetes errors helps you or makes it worse?

 

Annelies (age 15)
My parents never punished me, but they did explain to me the importance of being responsible with my diabetes and the long term effects of not taking care of myself. I feel like that works better than punishing, as punishing makes taking care of your health seem more like a chore than it is.
Andrew (age 15)
My parents have never punished me for not testing, nor have they ever punished me for forgetting to bolus. Personally I find the idea of punishing anybody for a mistake harmful. In my mind the harmful impact of punishing someone for making a mistake managing something as difficult as diabetes is even worse because it just puts more stress on the diabetic then they already have.

Ashley B. (age 16)
My parents have punished me for forgetting to check or bolus. If I do really well with my testing/blousing and I miss one or two, they’re fine. However, if I start slacking on my care they’ll take me off the pump and put me on shots, or my mom will take over completely. That usually means that I have to tell her my blood sugar and how many carbs I plan on eating and she’ll enter everything into my pump to make sure I’m getting the insulin that I need.

Ashley C. (age 14)
My parents haven’t punished me because that would just make me not do it. I feel if you punish someone because they forgot to do something with their disease, it will just make the person not want to do it even more.

Cameron (age 17)
My parents never have, and I feel that it’s a bad idea to punish someone for forgetting to do something. Diabetes isn’t always the first thing on our minds and sometimes we forget stuff. It’s not the end of the world.

Claire (age 18)
 My parents do punish me for diabetes errors. For example, there was a short period of time when I was forgetting to do a BG before driving, which is a BIG no-no, so as punishment they took away my truck for 2 weeks. Which, at the peak of my senior year, both inconvenienced me as well as embarrassed me. However, it did get the point very much across that doing a blood check before driving is imperative. And I believe that the punishment didn’t make it worse, as to this day I continue my good habit of doing a BG before driving.

Erin (age 17)
No, they just say there’s always an experience to learn from. There were a few times this school year I forgot to give lantus and had to leave school. I don’t think punishing for error is a good idea with a disease, because we all make mistakes and can always learn from them. Sometimes punishing can lead to more mistakes.

McKenna (age 16)
In the past my parents constantly punished me for testing and for not giving insulin. When the disciplined me I became more rebellious and started evening doing it less which put my health in danger.

Christina (age 15)
My parents have a relaxed approach to my diabetes care, and I am pretty independent in my care. Thus being said I take very good care of my diabetes, but when I do slip up they do not punish me. I personally do not see punishments as a good way to help your child take care of their diabetes because it makes it seem like more of a chore, especially for teens.

Ian (age 14)
I haven’t been “punished”. I get more of a guilt trip. I don’t prefer this, because if I forget a bolus, I feel the onset of high numbers. It doesn’t feel good, and there is no way that I’d do it on purpose.

Jessica (age 20)
I was “punished” once in all 16 years of being diagnosed for not taking care of my diabetes. I was neglecting taking care of myself whenever I was hanging out with my former boyfriend. It was not out of spite or carelessness, I just always seemed to forget when we were out with friends. So, my parents warned me that if I didn’t fix it I would be grounded. Unfortunately, that time came and I was told that I wasn’t allowed to see him or hangout with him for a week. I think that in this instance it helped me get back on track. However, I strongly feel that grounding and punishing for diabetic errors does much more harm than good. T1D is something that no one likes or asked for, so why would punishing help make it better? In my opinion, I feel that this would only make the child hate the disease (and their life) even more. I believe that it is important to try to talk and connect with your child in hopes of figuring out a way to help and remind them to take care of themselves. Diabetes isn’t something your child chose to have or to do, like disobeying rules or breaking curfew, so punishing them seems unwarranted.

Jordan (age 18)
I feel like it is fair to be punished in certain instances because it is extremely dangerous to be messing up with diabetes.  I have been punished for not testing before driving, and my car has been taken away from me several times.  But I think that if I got punished for forgetting to test or bolus in general, I would just resent my diabetes even more.

Julia (age 15)
I’ve never been punished for forgetting a bolus or forgetting to test, but my parents have reminded me about it. Sometimes they get upset about it and I don’t think that necessarily helps me remember.

Laura (age 17)
Not really, but I do remember one time where I needed a help with a site change in the early hours of the morning and I had to wake my mom up, which was followed with a lot of intense yelling. The only way this situation helped me was to become more independent. Soon after this event I learned how to do everything by myself

Lexi (age 16)
Not that I can remember. I feel as if it should be a good idea maybe but most of the time my mom and I figure out better ways for me to remember to test, correct, and/or bolusing for my food.

Maggie (age 16)
My parents never have punished me for not testing or forgetting to bolus because mistakes happen and no one is perfect. I believe that punishing a kid for a simple mistake makes the situation a lot worse. The child will feel as though they have no independence and I think the real question is to step in our shoes. Do you really think if you had diabetes you would NEVER forget to bolus or check? If you think that then you need to look into how busy our lives are and step into our shoes.

Skylyn (age 16)
I haven’t ever really been punished for not bolusing or testing and I don’t think you should be. No one is perfect and sometimes you know when you’re really busy and in a rush, bolusing for what you ate may be forgotten. I don’t think you should be punished for something that wasn’t intentional like forgetting to bolus.

Vanessa (age 16)
I have been punished before for letting my blood sugar get way too high, but only a handful of times. I also feel like punishing a kid for mistakes with their diabetes just makes it worse because they already have to deal with this disease 24/7. If they get punished for forgetting a shot or forgetting to check then it makes it even worse on the kid. Now if the kid is doing it on purpose to themselves and lying a lot of times about their diabetes, then I do think some punishment is acceptable.

Haley (age 14)
My parents have never punished me for anything diabetes related. They have lectured me a few times, though! I think it’s helpful for me to be reminded how important being responsible with my care is.

Maddy (age 14)
My parents haven’t punished me but they have definitely been upset if I don’t test or forget to bolus. I do feel that punishing for diabetes errors helps me because if the punishment is something I don’t like, then I will do everything I can to not get the punishment again.

TEEN TOPIC #54: In the summer do you mind having your D-tech more visible? Do you switch off from a cgm or pump if you can’t hide it under clothes or at the beach? If not, do you mind explaining when people ask about it?

Annelies (age 15)
In the summer, I don’t mind having my devices visible. It’s a part of me, and I can’t really hide that. Although it can get annoying, I don’t mind explaining because not many people know about what the devices are, or what diabetes really is in general and it ends up sparking a new conversation.

Ashley B. (age 16)
During the summer, I don’t mind if any of my insulin sites or my CGM site is visible. It just makes for easier access in case something goes wrong.

Ashley C. (age 14)
In the summer I try and have it in my leg so I can give my arms a break. I also don’t really care if people see it; I’m not self-conscious about my diabetes. I don’t have a problem explaining my disease to other people, I actually love telling people about it.

Cameron (age 17)
I don’t really mind having my stuff being visible because most people that see it already know I have diabetes. I don’t mind explaining it when people ask me either.

Claire (age 18)
I don’t have any of those things. However, when people see me dosing or checking my blood, they often ask what I’m doing and I more than happily explain to them.

Erin (age 17)
I am not on a pump or CGM, however in general I am pretty open with checking and giving injections. Unless a friend or person has asked me to not check or give insulin in front of them I do.

Ian (age 14)
I don’t really like having my diabetes supplies visible, period. I don’t care either way, pump or pens, I can manage to hide them quite well either way.

Jessica (age 20)
I have never been the biggest fan of having my pump and CGM showing while at the pool or beach, or even when wearing a dress, but I don’t really have any other option. I could return to shots, but I don’t. I simply live with it and accept who I am. It is a part of me and if people judge or don’t accept that, then I shouldn’t be surrounded by them. I do occasionally go on a hiatus from my sensors for a couple of weeks at a time in order to give my body a break. I never mind explaining my pump and what it is for, however, I will admit that I can get annoyed if I’m with friends at the beach and people ask me tons of questions when I just want to have fun. Nonetheless, I don’t mind answering some questions or talking with a fellow T1D when in public.

Jordan (age 18)
It is not a problem to me whether or not my pump shows because it’s not like an embarrassing thing.  The only problem I see in the summer is that when I take my pump off at the beach I have to make sure that I put it somewhere shady or else it will overheat.

Julia (age 15)
I don’t really try to hide my pump or cgm from people in the summer or anytime really. I don’t usually wear my cgm at the beach but other than that it doesn’t bother me. People often ask me what my cgm is but I don’t mind explaining.

Laura (age 17)
This actually doesn’t bother me at all because I never really think twice about it. I think I used to be a little more self-conscious about it, but eventually accepted that it’s something I need to survive and I shouldn’t be embarrassed about it or try to hide it. As for the questions, they sometimes can get obnoxious. I guess it just depends on the time and day.

Lexi (age 16)
I don’t usually hide my pump from anything. Most of the time when I’m out I just go to a friend’s house who already knows about it. There’s nothing for me to hide and I would never want to switch from my pump back to shots.

Maggie (age 16)
In the summer I don’t really mind if my “D-tech” is showing. It’s a part of who I am. I would never try to hide it because I believe it is a part of my personality, and so what if I have this thing attached to me. If anyone asks what it is I just simply explain, “Oh, I have Type 1 diabetes and it’s my continuous glucose meter or insulin pump”. At Friends For Life (family diabetes conference) I got asked like 3 times what was on my arm so I just explained and spread knowledge about T1d.

Skylyn (age 16)
I don’t change anything. I wear my pump year round. I wear it in a case around my waist almost all the time so it’s never really visible; only when I am bolusing. No one really asks about it but if they do, I just tell them it’s my pump for my diabetes and that’s pretty much the end of explaining it.

Vanessa (age 16)
No, it never bothers me any time during the year for it to be seen. I am completely okay with people asking me questions about it because I like educating people on it.

Haley (age 14)
I’m MDI and I’m not using any D-tech right now, but if I were I wouldn’t mind if people saw it and asked questions. I feel it would provide a great opportunity to educate people about T1D.

Maddy (age 14)
I really don’t have an issue with my D-tech being visible. I don’t switch off from my cgm or my pump if I can’t hide it under my clothes or at the beach because then I can explain my devices and how they help me manage my diabetes better.

McKenna (age 16)
I wear a cgm, (Dexcom), and I don’t switch between a pump because I do not have one. But no, I don’t move it or remove the cgm if it’s visible because I forget it’s there most the time, it’s like it is part of me. I’m perfectly fine with others knowing I have a cgm.

Christina (age 15)
Since I have gotten my pump, I have always continued to wear it during the summer months. I do feel self-conscious about my pump being visible, but I don’t let that stop me from wearing it at places like the beach. On the rare occasion someone asks me about my insulin pump, I take time to inform them on what it is/does and about type 1 diabetes in general.